19th International Tour De Toona -  Pennsylvania, USA

25^th July - 31^st July 2005

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Stage 3 Review   - reproduced with kind permission from the International Tour De Toona and Mariane Werz O'Brien

Following the Peloton

Attacks mark PREIT/Logan Valley Mall stage 158.8km

The women took to the road half an hour after the men under ominously threatening skies. The heavy clouds kept it cooler than yesterday, providing welcome relief, but the relief would be short lived. After a parade lap around the mall the riders headed out on the open road. The tempo mellow, the racers covered the blacktop. A TEAm Lipton racer caught behind took to the gravel to sprint up to the front of the peloton. The Webcor, T-Mobile and Quark teams were leading the pack.

The elastic first stretched ten miles into the race on a sweeping downhill where the women hit nearly 50 mph, and the field split into three major groups but they pulled back together on the next rise. A brief light misty rain started to fall as Colavita, and Honey Stinger took over the front of the peloton.

Things picked up as the race neared the first sprint points, with all the sprinters teams organizing to put their pocket rocket in proper position. Victory Brewing, TEAm Lipton and Colavita massed at the front of the pack. Then Ina Tuetenberg suddenly materialized from out of nowhere, afterburners firing she smoked them all!

When the dust settled it was Ina Tuetenberg, Laura VanGilder, and Gina Grain taking the top three spots for the first sprint.

About 34 miles into the race the heavens opened and the rain poured down. It came down in sheets, a total gully washer. Visibility was limited just in time for a steep descent, where the racers scattered across the road. The peloton was split with about thirty riders in the lead group just in time for the first Queen of the Mountain points. The first women across the line were Lyne Bessette, Annette Beutler, Genevieve Jeanson, Leigh Hobson, and Erinne Willock.

The rains finally stopped thirteen miles later and the race came alive. There was attack after attack. Acceleration after acceleration! The peloton was string out in a long thin line as people come out of the Dew Drop Inn with beer in hand to cheer on the racers! Then Magalie Lavier burst out of the field, and she went on a solo time trial that lasted twenty miles, gaining a gap of 1 minute forty before the peloton decided to reel her in.

Another QOM was approaching, and those points were too precious to the heads of state. Seven women were chasing hard, and working together well, Magalie was absorbed by the chase group and dropped instantly. Lyne Bessette, Erinne Willock, Christine Thorburn, Genevieve Jeanson, Kim Baldwin, Annette Buetler would all play cat and mouse for the remaining twenty miles of the race.

Genevieve dug deep and sprinted off the front of this select group to claim the top points in QOM. Once the points are secure in her pocket she waited to reintegrate with the chasers and the next game of cat and mouse was begun. At 94.5 miles Christine Thorburn took a flier off the front, Genevieve responded and the two gained a ten second gap.

Lyne Bessette mounted a counter attack and single handedly drew them back. With 1k to go Webcor's Erinne Willock sprinted off and everyone responded, then from the rear her teammate Christine Thorburn counter attacked with 200 meters to go. Genevieve Jeanson and Annette Beutler countered but Thorburn was too quick for them on this day, and she takes the overall lead.

After the podium presentations, wearing the leaders Yellow jersey Christine said, "I am very happy. This is a lot of responsibility but my team is up for it! This was a good stage; there was a little excitement with that rainstorm and hail. The weather made this race." She said she was very fortunate to have teammate Erinne Willock in the final break because "Having two of us in the break is what really made this possible."

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Results - Stage 3   Westsylvania / P.R.E.I.T. & Logan Valley Mall Point To Point Road Race 158.8km